Express your love for pets

One of the popular mediums used for painting is pastels. Oil pastels are pencils with an inert oil or wax as added ingredients. But unlike other mediums such as oils or watercolors where the colors are normally pre-mixed in the palette, in pastel painting, the colors are combined and mixed on the paper using a blending or overlaying technique. This way of painting produces vibrant colors on a wide range of surfaces.

If you would like to know how to paint with pastels, you could start by learning some basic facts:

Pastels. There are soft pastels, hard pastels, oil pastels and pastel pencils that you could use for pastel painting. You should be familiar with how each of them works.

Papers to use. Aside from the different types of pastels you could use, there is also a wide range of papers for pastel painting. These papers differ in texture from velvety to rough surfaces. There are also special papers with a “laid effect” with one side having closely spaced lines while the opposite side a little mottled. There are also papers with a texture similar to coarse sandpaper.

One of the important things to remember when choosing the paper type is the tooth of the paper. The tooth indicates the amount of pastel pigment that it is able to hold. A paper with more teeth can hold more pigments, making it ideal if you intend to paint several layers of pigment.

Paper color. The paper color you use can affect the mood and general appearance of your painting. For instance, a dark red paper will add a warm glow to your painting while papers with pale colors give it a more subdued and softer effect.

When you are already familiar with the pastels, papers and paper color, you are now ready to make your first pastel painting. Here is how:

1. Create your thumbnail drawing on a sketchbook, applying each element on its spot.

2. You could start using a hard pastel because it is easier to use for beginners. Block in forms and shapes with a light touch. As an alternative, you could also lay down first your main color which would be the largest area in your painting.

3. For a start, you could create random strokes as you develop your own technique.

4. Once you are done blocking with a lighter stroke, you could then start filling darker and heavier strokes.

5. Blend your colors by layering different pastel pigments until you get the effects you want to achieve. When blending colors, you could use a dampened color shaper, a sharpened blender, or even your own fingers. You could also add in small swirls of colors for a better effect.

6. Refine your paintings by adding fine color details such as light in an eye, using finer tools.

7. Have one last glance at your painting, making sure that all the finer details are achieved.

It takes time before you can really master the art of pastel painting. But with constant practice and your knowledge about the basics, you will surely be good at it in no time.

Pastel is gaining in popularity as a medium for painting because of the vibrant colors they produce. If you are new to pastel painting, it would be good to be familiar first with the materials and tools you need so that you could prepare them before beginning your first project.

Pastel Paper

A pastel paper is the most basic material you will need for pastel painting. There are textured and colored papers that you could choose from. The more texture or tooth a paper has, the more it can hold pigments. Textures range from velvety soft to sandpaper-like. They could also differ in pattern. It would be good to try several types of paper since it is much more of a personal choice.

In addition, the color of paper you will use can also affect the general appearance of your painting. Darker papers can give your painting a warmer look while lighter papers can give it a more subdued appearance. Paper colors available include black and white, primary colors and earth colors.

Apart from pastel paper, there are also other painting surfaces available. Among them are the pastel board and the sanded pastel card which are more textured, allowing you to apply multiple layers of colors. For beginners who do not like to spend on a more expensive pastel paper or surface, a drawing paper or watercolor paper may also be used.

Pastel Colors

Beginners can easily get intimidated by the huge range of pastel colors available. If you are not sure on what to buy, start with a starter set and then collect from there. You could also use half-sticks instead of full-sticks so that you will have more colors for your budget.

Pastel Fixative

Pastel paintings may smudge if the colors are not fixed. That is where you will need a fixative. A fixative is available in liquid or aerosol form which should be applied using an atomizer instead of being painted on. And when you use it, be sure that you are in a well-ventilated area. Additionally, it is important to note that too much fixative can darken the colors in your painting, while having nothing at all can put your painting at risk of getting ruined with even just a small smudge.

Aside from the most basic materials and tools listed above, there are a few extras that you might want to take a look at:

Sketchbook – rather than practicing on an expensive pastel paper, you could do it on a sketchbook.

Have you ever experienced having a sweet taste in mouth without having eaten anything sweet? Well I did yesterday and it’s kind of giving me the creeps. It’s like being haunted by ghost food or something lol. It’s true and I’m not particularly making this thing up. Well it’s the first time I’ve experienced it so maybe that’s why I’m all fussed up.

But today is a new day as I have read about it last night on the internet. A sweet taste in the mouth without eating or drinking anything sweet can be caused by one of many things. It may be caused either by gustatory problems, an impending stroke, seizures, epilepsy, or diabetic neuropathy among many other things. Things I don’t particularly like happening to me anytime soon.

Gustatory problems because the mouth and throat seems to be interconnected somehow and the nerve endings responsible for tasting and feeling things in the mouth and throat may be faulty sometimes, which explains the sweet taste in the mouth we sometimes experience.

Strokes, seizures and epilepsy happening can also cause altered tastes in the mouth. Salty taste in mouth, sweet taste, etc. is also caused by nerve receptor damage typical to these afflictions as the nerves are the ones responsible for sending signals to the brain. Disruption of these signals often result in us getting mixed up sensations vastly different from the norm.

That now brings us up to the most probable cause of sweet taste in the mouth without reason which is diabetes neuropathy. Diabetes also induces metabolic problems wherein the nerves responsible for taste and smell are impaired hence the sweet taste in the mouth. It may also be because of the high amount of blood sugar in the system when in diabetes that causes the symptom.

Generally speaking, an abnormal taste in the mouth usually involves damaged or disrupted nerves which are responsible for the senses that we feel. Other afflictions wherein we might get the same symptoms as the above sicknesses are Parkinson’s disease, Multiple Sclerosis, and Alzheimer’s as they too disrupt the electrical signals that the nerves transmit to the brain.

But if you ask me which of the stated ailments would I rather prefer to be happening to me, my choice would be diabetes as it seems to be tamest of the bunch. Not that I really wanted to, but better it than the other more serious ones which looks like it may kill you or something much worse.

But the safest thing to do during these episodes is to consult an expert on the field, which happens to be a doctor. I may look unperturbed but deep inside I’m very worried of what is happening to me. I have already scheduled an appointment with our GP for tomorrow and I can’t wait to really know what it is that I have. Hopefully it’s just a fluke and nothing serious as I am too young to have to go through these things. I hope it’s just cavities.

I’d like to say that I’m a very carefree kind of girl, but I really do get anxious sometimes. Okay most of the times. But I really am a happy go lucky type of girl if not for the deadlines which inevitably turn me into a witch of some kind.

I really can’t help it if things go invariably wrong, as I am a sort of perfectionist by nature and I really want everything to go as planned. But things eventually do not always go according to plan. Apparently everything that could go wrong, no matter what the preparation or anticipation of it, does go wrong. Just ask Mr. Murphy what I am talking about. I think he even created a law about it and stuff.

Take for example a work that I had just recently finished for a paying client. It was a painting of his pet dog with nature as its background, a relatively easy job compared to the ones that I regularly do. It was to be finished in two weeks’ time, a long time by my standards, and just in time for the client’s birthday. I did receive a picture of the dog as per my requirements and I also received a picture of the scene that would be used as the dog’s backdrop.

Even though I was relatively busy at the time with many a painting to be done, I accepted the job as the client had been a regular customer of mine and I was sure that I’d find some time to do it as it was easy and stuff. So I continued with my other more pressing works, besides, it’s not due for another two weeks, I told myself.

Come one week and six days later, I remembered it. It was due the next day and I haven’t even started on it yet. Add to that I seem to have misplaced the picture of the dog somewhere and it took me two hours to find it. It was placed in between finished canvasses and of how it got there I really have no clue.

What’s more disappointing is that I seem to have ran short of blank canvasses to paint on and I had to go out and buy some, it was already near closing time for the shop and I still had to drive a couple of miles just to reach it. I was beginning to have anxiety chest pain while driving as traffic seem to follow me everywhere I go, even on the backstreets that I used as shortcuts.

Long story short, I got my picture and I also got my canvass. It was already 9pm when I started and although it was already late, I was very thankful to have a chance to do it and not totally forget about it. I imagined what I would’ve done if the client came for his painting and I haven’t anything to give to him.

But I still couldn’t paint as I was still stressed out from the day’s events. I already had three cups of chamomile tea but I think I need a couple more of them to calm my nerves. I use them as sort of supplements for anxiety and they work most of the time. Anyways, I did finish the painting in time and the client also liked it. Rest assured that I would never do those things again, that is, if I can help it and all.

I’ve got to really improve upon my posture while painting as my back is beginning to show signs of giving up on me. Painting it seems is the sort of activity that is very taxing on the back, what with all the standing and all the awkward positions one has to endure just to finish one piece.

What more if you have to do several in just one sitting, or linger on one particular painting for great amounts of time as I am always inclined to do. Certainly one has to put tremendous amounts of time and effort just to make one beautiful piece, mainly because it will really show if done otherwise, and I wouldn’t want to bring out unbeautiful and imperfect art.

Currently I am experiencing middle back pain and it often occurs about two hours into my doing a painting. You see I always stand when I’m painting things as I really want to see the entirety of the canvass and stuff. I have been painting like that since I can remember and changing the way I paint might unintentionally bring out some problems.

Maybe it’s really my posture when I paint that is the root of my problem or maybe not, I really don’t know. I kind of slouch a bit when I am already tired from painting and that maybe my body seem to have problems adjusting its form when I slouch.

I have read several articles about the bad effects of poor posture in general and slouching in particular. It said that slouching causes muscle as well as bone tension in the back that if left untreated or if done continually, may develop into permanent stiffness in the area as well as degeneration of joints in the spinal column.

Other products of slouching include reduced lung capacity, possibility of gastrointestinal pain due to peristaltic obstruction, and the threat of misconception in pregnant women among other things. I think I’m not yet that too far in my slouching but those are definitely the things in my future if I don’t stop with my habit.

I also experience right side back pain sometimes but they are a once in a blue moon thing. I have also read about them and the probable causes of right side pain in the back are UTI (urinary tract infection), slipped discs, sciatica, gallbladder or kidney problems, muscle strains and fractures, and last but not least, improper posture.

There you have it, both of the pains in my back have one thing in common, and that is improper posture. I really got to get this thing fixed or it will be the death of me as I really don’t want to be hunched over when I get old like those old persons I see on the internet.

Maybe I should gradually introduce sitting in a high chair when I’m painting or construct a brace of some kind to put on my back for support. Or maybe I’ll try lying down and painting on my back. Nah, I would have paint raining down on me if I tried that and I’ll be the canvass instead of the artist. Anyways, I’ll just have to always remind myself to straighten my back every so often, maybe put up a sign or something to always be reminded of it. Now that’s a good idea.

An old artist friend of mine had an exhibit of his works at the local art gallery near our place. We’ve been out of contact for some time now and I was pleasantly surprised to see her name appear on, of all places, the city’s “things to do” pages. We grew up together and study at the same school. Our parents knew each other too and have spent several holidays together so we were really that close. Our ways separated because they had to move to another state because of her father’s work, but we always kept in touch from time to time.

That was almost ten years ago and this is today. I visited her first chance I got and we just talked and talked and in between were tight hugs and several kisses on the cheeks, typical of what friends do when they are separated for a long time. We brushed up on each other’s life and what we were both up to. She has also gotten far with her art that she maintains several studios in her city and she obviously wouldn’t be invited here if she was a relative unknown. She was still single and said that she rather devote her life to her art and by the looks of it, she’s doing really good.

Everything was going fine if not for her constant cough. She kept on coughing all throughout our conversation. Even when she showed me around to look at her works, her cough seems to interfere with everything. She noticed me looking worriedly at her and she explained that she is currently suffering from bronchitis. Lighting up another cigarette didn’t help as it seemed to aggravate her condition.

Bronchitis is a sickness wherein the cilia in our lungs and air passageways are inflamed to the point that they can no longer brush up or clean mucus and other debris in the lungs. Eventual constriction of the respiratory system due to inflammation cause severe bouts of coughing in people who have bronchitis. More so if the person suffering from bronchitis is a smoker as the smoke inhaled during the smoking process further irritates the already swelling air passageways. So I guess it’s a no win situation for her.

Although bronchitis heals itself after a couple of days, of course with the help of bronchitis remedies such as enough rest, plenty of fluids, bronchodilators and prescription medicines , coughing tends to continue for a couple of weeks especially with smokers. If ever bronchitis occurs too often to a person, it becomes chronic and is particularly hard to heal and may lead to COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) and lung damage.

My friend told me that she already knew about these things but seem powerless to stop her habit. Smoking she says, help her get over tough times and is also a thing that somehow gives her inspiration in doing her work. She also added that she couldn’t imagine herself not smoking anytime soon. But she coughed intensely after she spoke.

Okay, okay, I know I’ve got to stop this thing already or it will be the death of me. I just smiled an approving smile at her and we were off to lunch.

I have finally met a customer who wants to have a portrait of their pet fishes painted. I’m not one to complain as it is still a job, which really means I’ll have money to spend on whatever it is I wanted and that’s good enough reason for me to do it. It’s just that I was sort of worried about how to go about painting those little fishes without them moving so much and stuff.

It’s a challenge for me really as I haven’t had the chance to do that sort of job yet. I mostly have pictures of the animals to work with which were provided by the customers usually. But with these small fishes, I think that sort of process wouldn’t do particularly well. Firstly, the fishes would be so little in the photographs to really get the essence of them, and secondly, I would be hard pressed painting them as I wouldn’t know how to portray them in the first place. I better have an in depth talk with the customer to really straighten things out.

Another problem that I am foreseeing is of how I am going to paint two distinctly monotonous looking fishes without any colorful ones acting as their point of balance. It would have been easier if this was a charcoal painting or freehand pencil drawing, then I wouldn’t have to worry about them being mostly black and white.

What I’m talking about is that the two kinds of pet fishes the customer have are both catfishes. Yep, I also was dumbfounded at first as to why anyone would keep a whole aquarium full of catfishes in the first place. I was thinking that wouldn’t it be a waste of space if all the fishes stayed at the bottom or stuck on the sides of the aquarium all the time? Or how fun could it be if all you’re looking at are dull fishes that are not really moving at all. Well, to each his own I guess.

The fishes I’m talking about are the Cory catfish and the Pictus Catfish of the catfish families. They are rather small fishes when compared to their cousins in the wild which could grow up to the size of a man. I’m not kidding as I saw this show on National Geographic that featured them. It was a stupendously scary show which actually reinforced my fear of the water and the things in it. I’m never going to wade in murky waters again I promise.

The Corys and the Pictuses are recognized as the cleaners of the aquarium kingdom, always at the bottom feeding on the scraps of food that are left unconsumed by other fishes. They also seem to feed on planktons and the slime that grows around the glass of an aquarium. They are recognized by the two long whiskers they have on either side of their mouths, with the Pictuses having a sort of elongated body and the Cories a more rounded one.

Anyways and as I’ve said before, it’s still a job and I’m going to do it no matter how complex it’s going to be. I’m an artist and I have no qualms about anything under the sun, except of course those humongous catfishes lurking in the rivers of the world.

I’ve got to really improve upon my posture while painting as my back is beginning to show signs of giving up on me. Painting it seems is the sort of activity that is very taxing on the back, what with all the standing and all the awkward positions one has to endure just to finish one piece.

What more if you have to do several in just one sitting, or linger on one particular painting for great amounts of time as I am always inclined to do. Certainly one has to put tremendous amounts of time and effort just to make one beautiful piece, mainly because it will really show if done otherwise, and I wouldn’t want to bring out unbeautiful and imperfect art.

Currently I am experiencing middle back pain and it often occurs about two hours into my doing a painting. You see I always stand when I’m painting things as I really want to see the entirety of the canvass and stuff. I have been painting like that since I can remember and changing the way I paint might unintentionally bring out some problems.

Maybe it’s really my posture when I paint that is the root of my problem or maybe not, I really don’t know. I kind of slouch a bit when I am already tired from painting and that maybe my body seem to have problems adjusting its form when I slouch.

I have read several articles about the bad effects of poor posture in general and slouching in particular. It said that slouching causes muscle as well as bone tension in the back that if left untreated or if done continually, may develop into permanent stiffness in the area as well as degeneration of joints in the spinal column.

Other products of slouching include reduced lung capacity, possibility of gastrointestinal pain due to peristaltic obstruction, and the threat of misconception in pregnant women among other things. I think I’m not yet that too far in my slouching but those are definitely the things in my future if I don’t stop with my habit.

I also experience right side back pain sometimes but they are a once in a blue moon thing. I have also read about them and the probable causes of right side pain in the back are UTI (urinary tract infection), slipped discs, sciatica, gallbladder or kidney problems, muscle strains and fractures, and last but not least, improper posture.

There you have it, both of the pains in my back have one thing in common, and that is improper posture. I really got to get this thing fixed or it will be the death of me as I really don’t want to be hunched over when I get old like those old persons I see on the internet.

Maybe I should gradually introduce sitting in a high chair when I’m painting or construct a brace of some kind to put on my back for support. Or maybe I’ll try lying down and painting on my back. Nah, I would have paint raining down on me if I tried that and I’ll be the canvass instead of the artist. Anyways, I’ll just have to always remind myself to straighten my back every so often, maybe put up a sign or something to always be reminded of it. Now that’s a good idea.

So what do you remember most from your growing up years, specifically your teenage years that is? I know there are too many vivid memories of those days long gone but certainly there would be some particular events that far outweigh the other ones. It could even be bad ones for all I know, but I’m sure you remembered something.

I bet you would be answering about high school life and stuff about school or maybe even your crushes back then. Maybe a first kiss or your first date at the prom, it could even be the bully that scarred you for life, either emotionally or, heavens forbid, physically. Those memories certainly makes you think that time really do fly by so fast.

Me? Why yes, I also got those too. In fact there are too many of them still stored in my mind, that mentioning each and every one of them would take me ages to write in here. Reading them would definitely bore you as you might find them a little bit unexciting. But that’s me, and every little one of them really does mean something important to me.

But the one thing that seems to really shine out from the other ones is the episode I had with pimples. I used to have lots and lots of them, nodular acne, scalp acne, pimples at the back, and even large pimples at the center of my nose, which unfortunately had the habit of re-appearing once every couple of months.

I tried almost everything there is to try just to get rid of them but nothing seems to work. I tried several prescription medicines that were recommended by our family doctor, no luck. I tried some mumbo jumbo that was apparently devised by some other kids who were my age back then, no luck. I tried to regularly wash my face with soap and water, but it only managed to dry it up, no luck.

I don’t really recall how I managed to get over them but that is not what really made them special to me. You see I had this luck back then, that whenever something big is coming up, I have myself a nice big pimple breakout. I’m not kidding. It really did manage to coincidentally time itself with the important times during my teenage years. I don’t know why it is so, maybe because my hormones really jack up when I’m excited and stuff, so maybe that’s what’s causing the pimples to come out.

There you go. That’s what I remember most from my growing up years. I really miss those days. If there only was a way that we all could come back to some point in time and relive it, list me up as I would not hesitate to do it.

I was really a very happy kid back then, why wouldn’t I be? I’ve got the most supportive, understanding, and loving parents anyone could ask for. I’ve got a ton of friends who are always there for everything, and I’ve also got my good luck pimples.

I finally had a break from my normal routine as my friends and I went to the beach for some much needed recreation. I don’t really know what happened as they were just calling me a couple of days ago about going to the beach then they’re already here all of a sudden. I can’t really decline as they took the time to invite me personally and stuff. Besides, I’ve been planning to go there myself and just waiting for the right time to go. Long story short, it’s off to the beach we went.

I haven’t really had time to pack for anything as everything took me by surprise. I was painting at the time and was startled by the amount of people entering the gate in our yard. It took some time to recognize them as my mind went into panic mode, thinking it was some sort of break in or something. Good thing they were all smiling at the time else I would’ve called the police on them.

The beach! I have missed that place since I can’t really remember when. I missed the sand inside my shoes, the sound of the waves, and the sun on my skin, oh the sun. The sun was hot mind you, but we had so much fun that the heat took backseat to all the things we’ve done the whole day.

First there was sand castle building, then beach volleyball, then riding the banana boat all along the coastline, and that was just the beginning. After lunch, there came the human pyramid building and the water fighting in pairs, boy did we have fun today. We certainly acted like the little kids that we aren’t and it was kind of refreshing to say the least.

But yes, the pain did come much later, and as expected. I think I have the fever or something as I am feeling very hot both inside and outside. My skin is still burning from several hours of exposure I received that it really feels like second degree sunburn if not anything else. Time to get to find out if what they say about vinegar for sunburn is true and I really hope it is, else I’m doomed.

What’s more is my joints are aching like hell and I can’t seem to move any part of my body without it hurting and stuff. It feels like I was baked in the oven till I’m crispy. Thankfully it’s not Thanksgiving or else I’m the turkey and I really hope this tan that I got sort of makes it up for all this hardship, also don’t touch me, I’m golden now.

Well anyways, I do think it was all worth it. The aching joints, the sunburn, all the exhaustion in between, and everything else I will gladly experience again as it’s been ages that I have felt his way. Just chilling on the beach with friends and acting like little kids. I promise this thing will not be the last.

Congratulations are in order as I now am truly a bonafide member of my family. Throw away all those adopted jokes that my brother had the nasty habit of calling me, release all the love that is due to me from whatever sources, and finally write my name on whatever last will and testament there is to accomplish. Know ye by all men that I Michelle have proven to all and sundry that I am a true blooded Smith through and through.

Yep, I’m a Smith alright, and there is no point arguing otherwise as I have the only thing needed to prove it. I have bunions, Tailors bunion to be precise about it. I’m not really proud about it and stuff but it’s already there, no use denying it.

So what? That doesn’t prove anything, you might say. Well I’ll tell you this if you are really familiar with our family then you would know very well what I’m talking about. All the girls from my immediate family has had bunions at one time or another, with some managing to cure them, while some still suffering from it. But every girl member of our family has had them, that is, besides me. Well, apparently not anymore.

From my great grandma, to my grandma and her sister, my mother and her sisters, my aunts and my girls cousins, all of them share one thing in common, they all had bunions. They were beginning to think I was weird or something as I was the only girl left in the family who has not had them. I used to smile smugly when their talk turned to bunions and stuff, so maybe this is just karmic justice finally arriving on my part.

So what causes bunions really? My answer to that is readily apparent, heredity. Only heredity and as a birth defect, everything else are just predisposing factors. Predisposing as in it will eventually get you bunions if you manage to do them all the time.

Several of these predisposing factors includes being flat-footed, trauma in the area, nerve damage, and last but not certainly the least, the wearing of ill-fitting and improper footwear. Need I say more about the wearing of shoes that are not good for you? Well I was talking to myself just now, mainly because it is the reason that my bunions surfaced.

I hard-headedly kept on wearing my favorite pair of shoes even if they are already a year old and even if they are already constricting my feet in an anaconda-tight kind of way. Apparently the feet still keeps on growing even in adulthood, either that or the shoes shrunk.

Well at least I don’t have to worry about things regarding bunions and stuff as I have many resource persons to ask about it. What type of shoes do I need for this, will I need pads, what to take for the pain, can it be cauterized and stuff, many questions that already have been answered. All I need to do is ask.

It’s seldom I wear high heels but when I do, I make sure to injure myself lol. Well I was invited to a formal affair of some sort, it’s the wedding of one of my best friend and I was supposed to be one of her bridesmaids. But after several attempts to reason myself out of the event, I grudgingly acceded as it was my best friend who personally invited me, the one who I grew up with and spent many summers together growing up. After all, it’s not every day you get married and stuff.

I was surprised to hear it coming from her that she was about to get married. I really didn’t expect that from her. I thought she would grow old by herself judging by the way she used to hate men with a conviction. She was also sort of tomboyish in everything that she does, so knowing about her upcoming wedding made my mouth gape wide open. Times seems to really do change things, maybe something happened on her way to single blessedness that made her change her mind. Well, I’m really happy for her.

Anyways, the wedding was spectacular to say the least as everyone had fun. There was also crying too, especially the heartfelt speech made by her dad who sort of was thinking the very same things I did with regards to her wedding and stuff. Everything went smoothly with everyone except me that is, as my feet were really beginning to kill me. I somewhat regret never having to really gotten to learn wearing these high heeled torturing machines ugh.

To make matters worse, I bent my ankle hurrying to catch the wedding bouquet thrown by the bride. I got it alright. I got myself a sprained foot for my efforts. Thankfully it was towards the latter part of the event and everyone was busy enough to permit me to sneak a little talk with the bride. Actually I was asking if I could already leave as my ankles are getting a little bit puffy with swelling.

She would not hear anything of it and began calling for aid from among those present. Thankfully a sports doctor was present who advised the placing of ice over the area, and a hotel staff kindly supplied me with a standard hotel issued soft loafers as I didn’t bring any replacement footwear with me. It was sort of embarrassing being attended to and looking the way I did. Believe me you wouldn’t want that to happen to you.

I managed to come home eventually after the swelling subsided a little. Besides the swelling, I’ve got tingling feet to show for remaining in a sitting position for the rest of the event. My feet slept on me and I had trouble getting up. It was kind of like thousands of needled poking at the soles of my feet at the same time and it wasn’t as painful as it was annoyingly funny in a ticklish kind of way. I have got to learn how to wear high heels in the near future.

I can’t seem to paint today no matter how hard I try to. There is work to be done and even if the inspiration for it is present, the mechanical aspect of painting is somewhat off a bit. You see I can’t really hold my brush for longer than a couple of minutes before it starts getting sort of numb. I’m beginning to get a little worried on when this thing with my arms will end because I have got many paintings left to finish, talk about bad timing.

I shouldn’t have hanged on to those silly monkey bars and I shouldn’t have accepted that dare by my little brother, who kept on insisting I wouldn’t manage to get myself across one on the playground. We were there yesterday as I accompanied him with a couple of his friends to play. Being the doting sister I was, I wholly accepted his challenge, if only to prove he was wrong. I also wanted to know if I can cross the monkey bars without falling, so I did it.

The first few rungs were relatively easy but the trouble started on the fifth rung. My arms started to get tired and I looked as if I was hanging on for dear life with only three more rungs left. I somehow eventually gathered enough strength and willpower to complete the course, although barely, and felt really happy when I dismounted on the other side of the contraption.

My little brother clapped at me and I sort of blushed from the unexpected gesture coming from him. He told me I was great and that I did a good job of sorts so I gave him a big hug in return. But everything was not so fine a minute later as the numbness in my left shoulder began turning slowly into pain.

It felt as if someone pulled the whole arm out of its socket but never really succeeded and eventually left the thing hanging with only the skin keeping it in place, that’s how it felt. Besides the general numbness, pain in left shoulder is the thing that keeps me from using my hands completely.

I think its partial shoulder subluxation, or I hoped it to be that, as other causes may be grimmer. Shoulder subluxation is just a temporary thing by nature. It is the brief or partial dislocation of the bones in the shoulder joint that is caused by either direct trauma on the area or several other non-normal ranges of motion things.

It may eventually lead to shoulder joint instability but I’m not going that far as I think that what I’m suffering now are just strains in the muscles or ligaments in the area, probably from over exertion, lack of warm up, or because that it is only now again that I got to use those muscles, typical.

Anyways, I better put some ice over there to somehow dull out the pain and prevent any swelling from happening. I should’ve done it yesterday but what the heck, better late than never right?

I found this rather curious thing while surfing the net a while ago. It’s about the different personality types and how they react to each other. They say it can help people find their perfect match or tell them if they are compatible to the ones they are with now. I don’t know how I got to that website as I was originally searching for beautiful sceneries for my paintings, but it got my attention immediately so I read it.

I really don’t know how to explain them to you but it is about the psychological classifications of all types of people grouped into sixteen different personality types, all with different behavioral nuances. It is meant to be the basis of the foundations of good relationships if you manage to belong to compatible types or conversely if you and your mate’s type belong to the opposite sides of the spectrum.

I’ll just give you two of the sixteen types as examples. Hopefully you’ll manage to grasp what they are all about. They may be technical in nature but just give it a little bit of imagination and you’ll understand it immediately, I don’t really know how but I did eventually. They are ENFJ Relationships and INFP Relationships.

ENFJRelationships (extraverted, Intuitive, Feeling, Judging)

Commonly referred to as “the giver” among the personality types, who usually lives his or her life concentrated to external things and deals with events according to how they feel about it. They have reading, writing, storytelling, listening to music, going to museums, doing art as their most likely hobbies and they make very good teachers.

ENFJ’s have genuine empathy towards people and usually a humanitarian by choice, as he would take the problems of other people as his own, and usually suffer for it. They want to always have close bonds with other people and works very hard to maintain whatever relationship they have with other people.

Usually described as “the idealist” among the personality types, who commonly lives his or her life concentrated to internal things and deals with events according to their own inherent value system, and oftentimes by intuition too. They have photography, theater arts, visual arts, composing music as their hobbies and they like to always create things.

INFP’s are not really confined to the norms of the world as they rather would like to know things work based on their experiences with it. They are very flexible people and they recognize the point of view of others, never really imposing themselves on anyone except themselves and they rather be left out than go with the flow, if you know what I mean.

See, reading about these things really do give you valuable information about a person’s tendencies just by knowing their personality types. You’ll know their views about different things as it is always dictated by who they really are deep inside, and from there you might have a very good guess if he is ultimately ideal for you. You should try reading about the rest of the personality types as it is always good to be ahead. Who knows, you might find your Prince Charming in there somewhere.

I’m currently doing a portrait for a paying client who wants to have a painting of his pet rabbit done. I really don’t know what his reasons are for wanting one and I’m not about to ask him also. Let’s just say that he wants it and I’m about to make it for him. Besides, it’s the work that I need, and as long as it’s not particularly evil or anything, I make it a point not to judge. Who knows, maybe the rabbit is that dear to him or something, it’s been known to happen.

In fairness, the rabbit is kind of cute I give him that. It also looks like it is a house bunny which freely roams the house instead of being placed in some cage or something, you really can tell just by looking at it. I also don’t know of which bunny breeds it belongs to, but this rabbit is impeccably groomed and smells good to boot. Lucky for the rabbit his owner must be really into rabbits.

Anyways, we’re already done with the pictorials and have hammered out the various details that would go into the painting like what pose, background, and predominant colors that will be used eventually. Pictures are very necessary as you can’t really paint a live rabbit real time as animals do have a tendency to move always. You can actually, but it entails utmost concentration and loads of time to be solely dedicated to making the painting, things I have a few of lately, so pictures will serve very well in this instance.

I may ask about the rabbit’s sex eventually as it is needed for the painting and I don’t particularly know how to tell, short of physically checking out its organ, which I am not inclined to do today or even in the near future. Is it only one rabbit that is his pet or has he many of them and this one is his favorite of the bunch?

You might safely bet on him having many rabbits as one example of several well-known bunny facts, is that they are the master reproducers of the animal kingdom, capable of being pregnant eight times a year with up to twenty young ones per pregnancy. And you can also tell that he has several rabbits from the fact that he loved this particular bunny. Why? Well if he loved this rabbit then he wouldn’t want it to be lonely right? So he has got to get other bunnies to keep his favorite bunny happy. Geez, forgive me if I’m beginning to sound rabbity strange.

I may be able to finish this painting quiet faster than the others before it as I am beginning to wonder about the animal. It kind of took my fancy and my mind is hungry for additional information about them right now. I also paint better when I’m interested in the subject so that’s that. Well it’s time for me to brush up on my bunny trivia, farewell for now.

I was cute when I was young. That was what my mother told me during light times when we talked about the past. She said I was so cute that I wouldn’t fit in the dresses she bought for me, a month after she first purchased them. She also said that I would go through milk bottles as fast as she had made them and that I grew so fast they were beginning to worry about me.

I know how to read between the lines and I knew what she really meant of me being cute. I was fat. But cute fat according my mother, in fact she said I was the cutest child she ever laid her eyes on. Well, that’s what mothers really are and that’s why I love her very much.

Time really does go by so fast and here I am the cutest fat kid of old, now old enough to be like my mother and of all things I have to worry about, I’m having problems gaining weight, talk about the irony of it.

It seems like my metabolism always is on hyper drive and I can’t seem to put on any weight, no matter how often or how many food I eat, I just really can’t seem to gain any weight. I know, most people struggle very hard trying to lose weight while I am the other way around, trying my very best to gain it. If we could only change places then everything would be okay.

One problem I had on my transition from a relatively fat kid to a skinny adult is the stretch marks that come along with weight loss. I really should have none of them as my body stretched when I grew but how come I have lots of them? Maybe I was so fat that the stretching couldn’t handle all of the fat that I had.

Now I have stretch marks on legs, stretch marks on breasts, and stretch marks on my buttocks that looked as if I was sitting for a long time in a sofa with long wavy prints as its design. I don’t worry about them so much as they are hidden beneath my clothes and no one can see them, but I know they are there and try as I may, I can’t seem to figure out how to remove them.

Tattoo over stretch marks? Yes I have thought about that one too. But I have to say that that is not my cup of tea and just imagining how painful it would be to get tattoos really made my mind up not to get them. Maybe someday when my body is already okay I might decide to get one made.

So I really have to get some weight on to re-stretch these stretch marks of mine. Maybe when I get a little bit fat they would just disappear as if by some form of magic, I hope. That would be the day. Well, I guess it’s time to eat again.